Sydney

I made it to Australia, my next continent. I have now been to 4 out of the 7 world continents. I'm making my way around the world and checking things off. My week in Sydney was amazing. Such a beautiful city and I had such a good time. It being summer, actual summer, also helped (for the most part). I will warn you that this post is long.

I arrived a couple of days before the end of the year and settled into the city quite quickly. As much as I loved Southeast Asia, it's a nice break to be in a more modern part of the world. Toilets that flush are everywhere. No buckets or squatters in sight. But there is still time. I fortunately was staying with a friend of a friend in Sydney and his place was very close to the water. My primary form of transport was the ferry, which I loved. Even when it was raining. Brian was great and on my first day invited me to drinks and dinner with one of his friends at a nearby restaurant. It was outdoors, still light out, and summer. I was all about it. And I got to try some Australian beer.

What to choose?

The other great thing about Sydney, was that I had friends who were overlapping their trips there. I got to spend a lot of time exploring and catching up with them. My first morning, I met up with Emily and Ari in Watson's Bay, 2 ferry rides away. We took a walk along the coast to check out the South Head and had lunch. The coast is beautiful, and I love all the little beaches all scattered throughout.

The South Head.

I made my way back to the city proper and did a little shopping. Of course my shopping is a little different than what everyone was expecting. My splurges included an Australian/New Zealand converter (apparently my converter doesn't work here), face lotion, new flip flops, and a new dress. The dress was tough. I wanted something to wear for New Year's Eve, but also on my travels. Something nice, but not too nice. And I didn't want to spend a lot of money on it. Finally after checking out a number of stores, I finally found a simple black dress on sale at Uniqlo. It was a success. I celebrated with some bubbly on the harbor. 

Drink with a view.

On New Year's Eve, Emily and Ari came over and we did a bit of walking around North Sydney. We checked out Kirribilli House (the 2nd home of the Prime Minister), Admiralty House (official home of the Governor-General of Australia), and all the areas around the Sydney Harbour Bridge that people were claiming for the fireworks. I had gone for a run that morning (one last one of 2015) over the bridge and to the Sydney Opera House. Just like in NYC, people get going pretty early in the morning to claim the good spot to ring in the new year. However, it's summer here and everyone was wearing their swimsuits since they planned to sunbathe all day. No winter coats in sight. Because of this, and the anticipation of the fireworks, it definitely had more of a 4th of July vibe than a New Year's Eve one.

Staking claim.

Ari's friend Brian (who I was staying with) had our NYE plans all sorted out. We got to do a little bit of party hopping in a building with some great views. We ate, drank, talked, hung out on the balcony, and watched the NYE celebrations as the sun went down. We saw some air displays and a tug boat water display. At 9pm, there were the pre-fireworks show. So we got a little bit of a tease of what was to come at midnight. This was followed by some boats all lit up parading around the harbor. 

Harbour of Light Parade.

Right before midnight, we headed up to the roof to get the primary viewing location. And at midnight, we were given the most spectacular fireworks show I've ever seen. There were fireworks going off on 4 different barges in the water and we could see all of them. But the center of attention was the bridge. Fireworks were coming off the bridge from all different locations. It was amazing. I had questioned whether Sydney's NYE was a lot of hype and if I should actually attend. And boy, I am glad I did. This is one of those things you have to do and I was so fortunate to spend it with friends and have such a great night.

Fireworks at midnight.

Back home, New Year's Day usually consists of a run, maybe brunch, and a little hibernation to recover. Not this year. We headed to the beach. After my run of course. We spent some time at Balmoral Beach, went swimming, and got some seafood. It was my first time going into the harbor water and it was a bit chilly from what I was used to. But comparable to home. It was very nice and refreshing.

Balmoral Beach.

The Sydney Harbor Bridge is such a central part of the city. I've seen it from the ferry, had a drink near it, ran over it, and watched fireworks shooting off it it. It was now time to climb it. Right before the climb, I walked over it first to meet Emily and Ari. We checked in and then went through a pretty strict process of preparation. We first had to sign a waiver and take a breathalyzer. They don't want to take any chances. We then changed into our jumpsuits, and got our belts and headsets all strapped on properly. When that was all done, we had to do one test climb on a short indoor course. Once we were all ready, we headed out to the bridge. We started out on the catwalk under the bridge, which may have been the scariest part since you could actually see the ground below through the grating. But we weren't that high up, so it actually wasn't bad. We eventually made it to the Pylon Lookout Tower, where we then emerged from under the bridge. From there, we made a steady climb along the top arch. We made stops here and there to take photos, learn some information about the bridge, and soak up the views. We really lucked out on the weather. It was a little cloudy, but that was good since it wasn't too sunny and hot. I could tell the jumpsuit could heat up quickly. 

Top of the bridge.

We climbed all the way to the top of the bridge where the Australian flag waved in the air. Here we each took a short video to share with friends and family. And here's mine.

And here's one more of Emily, Ari, and I wishing everyone a Happy 2016.

The climb, including preparation and descent, took about 3.5 hours. It didn't seem to take that long and since you had to remove all accessories (including my fitbit, so no steps or flights were recorded), I wasn't keeping track of time. And no cameras were allowed, so we bought a package of photos on a USB. The one time I felt like I had to buy the photos. But it was worth it.

After all that climbing, we needed food and got lunch nearby at the Australian Hotel (not a hotel by the way). We tried some kangaroo and emu pizza and it was pretty good. I've actually had kangaroo before, but it was good to have it again. I do hope to see one on this trip. Which probably sounds weird since I ate one. But oh well. 

Kangaroo and emu pizza.

To celebrate getting to the top of the bridge we grabbed a drink at the Opera Bar. It was pretty crowded but we managed to find a seat near the water with the bridge behind us and enjoyed a drink amongst locals and tourists.

Drink with a view.

Sydney is famous for all the beaches and walks around the city. Emily, Ari, and I met up one morning in Coogee to do the walk to Bondi Beach. It was a great 2-hour walk along the coast. We passed by cliffs, beaches, a cemetery, and some fabulous houses. There were also a bunch of runners out, but the later it got, the more crowded it was. It's definitely a place to enjoy a slightly hilly run, but early morning is probably best. 

Coogee to Bondi walk.

When we completed our walk, it decided to rain. Which was perfect timing as we were getting some fish and chips for lunch. So not quite a beach afternoon and no swimming at Bondi. But we got to see it at least. 

Fish and chips.

My other friend Donna had arrived in Sydney while I was there. She was in New Zealand with some other friends and we got to overlap in Australia. We finally met up after some coordinating. Sydney is a great city, but it does take time to get from one side to another. We walked around Rushcutters and King's Cross, and caught up.

Catching up with Donna.

It was a quick visit with her, but I had the following day to hang out as well. On my way back to catch my ferry, I wandered the Royal Botanical Gardens for a bit. I would have loved to hang out for hours, but it was getting a bit late. But I got to check out the roses, the succulents, and some ferns. You could tell summer is here though. Some flowers that may have been in full bloom in the spring are no longer. But there were still quite a few flowers to enjoy.

Roses.

The following day, Donna, her friend Ash, and I had plans to head to Manly and enjoy the beach. However, the rain persisted and foiled our plans slightly. Instead, I did a little shopping first thing (I got a new day backpack that's way better than the one I was using). We then met up and did a tour of the Sydney Opera House. The tour was good, however, for what is was, I think it was a bit overpriced. We learned more about the history of the building of it and the architect. One interesting fact was an American had joined the selection process and had helped bring the design back from the reject pile. We got to see the inside of the different theaters for symphonies, concerts, plays, and other performances. They did play 2 videos for us, but I thought the tour guide should have relayed most of the information to us. Some visuals were nice to have though. A running joke throughout the tour was the number of noise disturbances we got, construction, announcements, etc. I enjoyed it the tour, but I think it could have been a bit cheaper for what it was. It would be really cool to go to a performance there. I do have one more night in Sydney next week so I may take a look at the schedule.

Inside the Sydney Opera House.

After the tour, we got on the ferry to Manly. We were able to take a few pictures of the harbor before it started raining on the ferry ride. Since we were hungry and the rain kept coming down, we stopped at Hugo's, which is right in the Manly harbor, for lunch. After some pizza and rose sangria, we walked to the beach. But there was no swimming. I'll have to get some more beach time in soon, since I didn't get to swim at Manly or Bondi Beach. 

A very rainy Manly Beach.

Later on, both friends merged together in the Rocks for a quick drink. It was nice to have both Donna and Emily together, even if it was a quick visit. I said goodbye to both friends since I was leaving the next morning. I was really glad I was able to see them both halfway around the world and it was a little crazy to think we made it happen. I'll get to see Emily again next month when I head to Denver for a friend's wedding, but it may be a while before I see Donna again. Most likely back in NYC whenever I make it back. But so good to spend time with them in Sydney. 

Loved seeing these ladies.

I had such a great time in Sydney. Such a good time that I didn't have time to update my journals or anything. I had great company throughout my visit, tried some new beers, saw the bridge and Opera House from all angles, went swimming, and one of the highlights, watching the fireworks display. I could definitely see myself living in Sydney.